Under Soviet rule, the value of the currency could change overnight as a result of government edict as was the case in 1947 and 1961, when citizens awoke to the news that new rubles would replace old at a rate of 1 to 10, effective immediately.

Finally, in 1996, the ruble began to stabilize, and in 1997, the Russian government unveiled a four-year-long switchover to new "deflated" currency.

In his State of the Nation speech to parliament,, he announced that Russia was planning to make the ruble “internationally convertible” so that it could be used in oil and natural gas transactions.

If Russia proceeds with its plan, the ruble will go nose to nose with the dollar on the open market sending several billions of surplus greenbacks back to the United States.

It took full advantage of the confusion following the fall of the Soviet Union and used it to apply its neoliberal policies which destroyed the ruble, crushed the economy, and transferred the vast resources of the state to a handful of corrupt oligarchs.

In a related move, Russia's lower house of parliament gave final approval to a bill encouraging governmental officials and civil servants to use the ruble in line with parliament's internal regulations or presidential decrees.

The moves are the latest in a series of efforts by the government aimed at boosting respect for the Russian currency, which in recent years has stabilized after the devaluations and redenominations of the early post-Soviet years.

The ruble's value has largely stabilized over the past half decade, after plunging some 80 percent after the financial crisis of 1998.

Because of the devaluing of the ruble, you just lost almost a quarter of a billion dollars -- and that is after accounting for the interest you earned.

Thus, for the Russian government to devalue the ruble is tantamount to its defaulting on a portion of its debt.

Because it is ineffective in collecting taxes, the government does not have enough rubles to either pay off the debt it owes on its bonds or to purchase the products it requires to continue operating as a government.

The Òsecond categoryÓ non-renovated rooms cost 600 rubles ($22) for single and 1000 rubles ($37) for double and have shared bathrooms while the Òfirst categoryÓ non-renovated rooms have their own showers and cost 1000 rubles ($37) and 1760 rubles ($65) for single and double respectively.

The comfortable standard rooms cost 2800 rubles ($104) for single and 3360 rubles ($124) for double while the superior rooms are 3080 rubles ($114) and 3640 rubles ($135) for single and double respectively.

The cheapest rooms are 2150 rubles ($80) for single or 2750 rubles ($100) for double but the Òhalf-luxÓ rooms are quite good value at 2400 rubles ($90) for single and 3000 rubles ($110) for double.

Ruble's strength leads to call for removal of dollar, euro references in Russia

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Remuneration of labor of the small-scale business employees (excluding the private business undertakings) is lower than the general in the economics of the region.

For October 1, 2002 the average monthly salary of the small-scale business employees constituted 2210 rubles, in the region – 4175 rubles.

The salary level here was 13443 rubles, in the aircraft transport sphere – 5128,6 rubles, in the housing and communal services sphere – 4911,3 rubles, and in the public education sphere – 4586,7 rubles.

The exchange rate between paper rubles and silverrubles was fixed at 3.5 paper rubles per one silverruble, - the rate chosen to be close to the market rate on the date when the government decree was issued.

Although the official exchange rate between paper and silverrubles was fixed, because of large emissions paper rubles lost their popularity and were more and more frequently presented to the government for exchange into silver coins.

Still, paper rubles depreciated: one paper ruble was worth 0.834 silverrubles in 1864, 0.816 in 1865, and 0.764 in 1866.

Champagnes and wines from 600 to 7,200 rubles are served, including four Georgian varieties, several vodkas and cognacs, and Warsteiner (155 rubles for.5 liters), Budweiser (110) and Nevskoye (80) beer on tap.

For appetizers, zernistaya (highest quality) fl caviar was delicious at 525 rubles, but the "captain's appetizer" of three bliny with red and fl caviar, a big slice of smoked salmon and a shot of Kristall Black Label vodka (275 rubles) hit the nail on the head.

The silver proof coin of 25 Rubles denomination of the series "Architectural Monuments of Russia" featuring the Konevsky Monastery of the St. Virgin’s Nativity on the Konevets Island in the Ladoga Lake (fine metal content 155,5 g, fineness 925/1000, diameter 60,0 mm, mintage up to 2 000 pcs., catalogue number 5115-0040).

The relief picture of the Emblem of the Bank of Russia and inscriptions on the obverse of the silver coin of 200 Rubles denomination are framed by a vignette with ornament.

The obverses of the silver coin of 200 Rubles denomination and the gold one of 10 000 Rubles denomination bear the ordinal number sign of the coin "№".

Russia paid 6.5 billion rubles in interest payments on loans from international financial organizations and 6.4.2 billion rubles on loans from foreign governments, 58.7 billion rubles of which was for the Soviet-era debt to the Paris Club.

Russia paid 71.6 billion rubles on its foreign bonds, 5.3 billion rubles on all series of its ruble-denominated government debt bonds and 5.9 billion rubles on Vnesheconombank (VEB) loans.

Russia spent a total of 207.6 billion rubles to service its government and municipal debt in 2005, or 5.9% of total cash spending in the period.

The protection the investments provide the Ruble, will make it a more reliable, convertible currency in terms of foreign exchange rates, but the investment is not connected to its convertibility otherwise.

As part of the process of elevating the status of the Ruble, Russian lawmakers gave initial approval to legislation that would ban businesses listing prices in Euros and $s and bar Cabinet ministers from referring in their speeches to currencies other than the Ruble.

Both the move to make the Ruble convertible and the diversification of the Rubles in the Stabilization Fund are not directed against the $, but are an attempt to ward off the dangers that might affect Russia from the decline of the $.

The budget for the first three quarters of 1998 (January through September) was USD 7.00 billion or 50.6 billion new rubles (the average exchange rate for the first three quarters of 1998 was 1 USD equals 7.23 new rubles).

By 01 October 1999 the total expenditure for defence (excluding the Ministry of Atomic Energy) was 91.7 billion roubles, according to a statement on 07 October by the representatives of the Main Department on Military Budget and Financing of Russian Defence Ministry on the performance of the defence budget.

The overall figure in the draft state defense contract for the next year was 36 billion rubles, including research and development, purchases of new military hardware and weaponry, maintenance and modernization as well as capital construction.